


bloodlust in a holy war

by ackermanx



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: M/M, Other Characters Are Mentioned, in which i make my own supports
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-30 21:51:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13960758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ackermanx/pseuds/ackermanx
Summary: the c to a supports that should have been (in my humble opinion)





	bloodlust in a holy war

**Author's Note:**

> throws confetti HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONNIE i love u and i hope u like This
> 
> it's honestly a shame that henry and libra didnt have any supports theres so much to explore? the naga vs grima thing? different religions/magic? man,

If there was one thing that Libra prided himself on, it was his patience. There weren't many things that could make his calm demeanor slip, let alone make him want to kick a very large rock.

Unfortunately, the newest addition to their ragtag army was one of those things.

Libra splits another log and sets his axe down to wipe the sweat off of his face. He's grateful that Robin had suggested splitting firewood as a way to relieve stress; it provided resources for the camp and gave him an outlet for his frustration outside of the battlefield at the same time.

(Not that Libra would ever admit his growing feelings out loud - it simply wasn't priest-like of him - but the steadily increasing pile of wood next to the mess hall could speak for itself.)

It gave Libra mild annoyance to know that so far, only Henry could get under his skin like this. Henry, with his unwavering smile and his undiscernable motives and his -

"Heya, Libra! Whatcha doing out here all alone?"

 _And his impeccable timing,_ Libra grimaces before properly turning around to face the grinning mage. "Good evening, Henry. How are you feeling tonight?"

"Really great, thanks!" Henry beams, seating himself on a nearby rock to watch Libra work. "Those Risen dropping left and right during our last skirmish really cheered me up!"

Libra tries to come up with a coherent reply, he really does, but all that he can come up with at the moment is "well, if you say so."

" _You d_ on't seem too happy, though. Something the matter?"

"...This situation...it's strange. I can't bring myself to trust anyone as much as I would like to." A little vague, but there was nothing wrong with telling a half-truth every once in a while, was there?

"Oh, d'you mean the Plegians?"  _Yes, let him think the Plegians._ "I dunno, really, but I think we'll be alright! Validar miiight try to attack again, but he won't go back on his word! At least, I wouldn't."

"I suppose that is somewhat of a comfort," Libra sighs. "But - "

"But you weren't talking about the Plegians, were you?" Henry plows on. "You were talking about me."

Startled, Libra's head snaps up and he makes eye contact with Henry. He thinks he catches a flash of sadness (and anger) before the usual happy demeanor slides back into place and Henry starts laughing again.

"It's alright!" he says before Libra even has the chance to start protesting. "It comes with the job of being a dark mage, I guess."

Libra just frowns - that shouldn't  _excuse_ him from being judgemental - but Henry cuts him off once more, pointing at the darkening sky.

"Wanna head back? It's getting a little too dark to be chopping wood, yeah?"

"I - I suppose, yes," Libra replies, bewildered because he finally has the chance to get a word in and because he could've sword it had been mid-afternoon just a few seconds ago. "Oh, could you help me carry some of this wood back into camp? So that I won't have to make as many trips back and forth."

"Sure thing! With magic or Manually?"

Absentmindedly, Libra nearly answers yes - but then the image of a floating log enters his mind unbidden, and he can only imagine the chaos that it would cause among certain members of the Shepherds (Miriel and Ricken, for starters), and vigorously shakes his head.

"Manually, this time. Please."

 

* * *

 

 

Surprisingly enough, the best advice that Libra receives comes from Gaius, the third most questionable member of their party.

"I dunno, sometimes you don't need a reason for everything?" he had spouted out one day (while quite literally spouting out cookie crumbs all over the dirt floor). "Like, I could have gotten addicted to something other than sweets, if you know what I mean, but sweets just happened to be there when they were. Get my meaning?"

Libra had merely hummed and nodded affirmatively at the time, but now the thought refuses to leave his mind. Maybe Henry wasn't as shady as Libra had initially thought he was - maybe he really had just switched sides on a whim, and Libra didn't have to worry about the possibility of him being a Plegian spy -

The sound of faint humming stirs Libra out of his stupor. He blinks back to reality, slowly becoming aware of his surroundings, and realizes that he had been unconsciously heading towards his usual spot for prayer.

Cocking his head up, Libra stops to listen. It's not an unpleasant sound, but the more that he hears of it, the more unsettled he feels. It  _shouldn't_ be anything bad, but...

He picks up his pace, hurrying towards the spot as fast as he can because if there is any trouble, he wants to get rid of it as soon as possible. A glimmer of white slows him down (maybe it was just a bird), but the closer that Libra gets, the more that the white gives way to purple and gold, until the colors solidify into the figure of a single human being.

Henry sits cross-legged one the ground, seemingly unaware of the moist dirt staining the bottom of his pants. The ever-present smile sits on his face peacefully as he sways from side to side, the same haunting note emanating from his throat.

Libra doesn't quite understand what's going on, but he doesn't dare to interrupt what he instinctively thinks is something important to the other man.

"Hey!" Henry says suddenly, not breaking any part of his demeanor except for the break in the flow of music. "Did I take your spot? Sorry about that."

"I wouldn't say that it's  _my_ spot, specifically. You're free to use it, if you wish," Libra says mildly as he picks his way across mud and pebbles to kneel in the dirt next to Henry. "Was there something on your mind?"

"Hmm, not particularly. I see you praying all the time, and I thought I'd give it a try! That's all, promise."

...Libra is strangely touched. "You do realize that praying is more than simply the action of kneeling, do you?"

"Sorta! Back in Plegia, we used to pray to Grima too, except it was more...y'know. Violent."

"Ah."

"Anyways, I thought I'd try it out. Nothing to lose, right? And it might get you to like me a bit more!"

Something catches in Libra's throat at the mention of that. "Speaking of me liking you, I have something to confess."

"You're in love with me?"

" _No_ ," Libra backtracks quickly, but a light blush spreads across his face that neither male acknowledges. "But I have misjudged you. Your company has been pleasant over the past two weeks, and I would like to apologize for accusing you of infiltrating us in the first place."

"Aw, you still remember that? I forgave you a long time ago! But I don't mind the apology, I'll take that too."

"You...forgive me? But - "

"I wanna be friends with you, too! You seem like a pretty cool guy, and...that's about all the reasons I got, honestly, but - !"

A smile breaks out on Libra's face and he places a finger over his lips before Henry can decide to say anything else.

"I understand. Now, since the both of us are out here anyway, would you mind joining me for a short prayer?"

Henry's eyes widen and his eyebrows rise the slightest bit at Libra's quiet acceptance, but a truly delighted expression crosses his face anyway and he settles back down quickly.

"Okay! I don't mind at all!"

 

* * *

 

 

"Hey, Libra! Thought I'd find you here!"

Henry bounds into the clearing right as Libra rings his axe down once more, and Libra can't help but feel a sense of deja vu bringing him back to the first time that they ever really talked.

"Henry. What do you mean by you thought you'd find me here?"

"You're either in camp, in town, praying, or chopping wood, and since there's no towns near here I checked everywhere else!"

Libra laughs - he really can't remember why he used to be suspicious of Henry when talking to the mage was like talking to a (vaguely morbid) puppy.

"Anything pressing that you need to talk to me about?"

"Nah," is all that Henry says before propping himself against a tree and propping his head in his hands.

Shrugging, Libra turns back to the chopping block to continue his work.

He gets through half of his stack before a thought occurs to him, and he takes a seat on the ground with his axe lying forgotten next to him. "I hope you don't mind, but I have a question for you, this time."

"Hm? Fire away!"

"Why are you fighting in this war?"

At that, Henry looks taken aback. Libra takes a few seconds to enjoy the feeling of managing to surprise the seemingly unsurprisable man, then starts to wonder what he had done wrong. "If I had offended you, I'm sorry, you don't have to answer if you don't care to - "

"You didn't offend me! I was just expecting something...different. Most people ask me about my past or my childhood, y'know?"

"I can imagine why those must be popular topics. But your past doesn't overly concern me - you're here fighting with us now, and I suppose that's the most that we can ask of you. I'm just glad you're not on the enemy side, or this war would be much harder to fight."

"Oh...huh. That's nice to hear, actually."

Silence, albeit a comfortable one, stretches between the two before Henry decides to open his mouth again.

"I dunno, actually. I was getting bored of Gangrel and Validar and all the  _losing_ , and you guys looked strong! I guess it would be more fun to fight against strong people than to fight with them, but...eh, I don't regret it."

Libra raises an eyebrow. "And now?"

"Well, you guys are still the strong ones! And I get to kill waay more Risen and enemies here, and you're here!"

"...I'm here?"

This time, it's Henry's turn to backtrack. "You...uh...you're magic resistant, and you could probably bring me down real fast, and..."

He splutters out, looking uncharacteristically nervous.

Libra decides to spare the poor man and pretend that that had never happened. For now.

"Does this mean that you think we'll win this war? We'll be victorious against a fell dragon?"

A dangerous glint enters Henry's eyes.

"I don't like picking fights I can't win."

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on twitter @axlotlols


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